Published 6:00 am, Thursday, October 10, 2013

PORT HURON — Despite a recent injury that left her with torn ligaments in her right ankle, Midland High senior golfer Amanda Walsh still found a way to qualify for the state finals with Wednesday’s performance at the Chemics’ Division 1 regional at the par-72 Port Huron Country Club.

Wearing an air cast on her ankle, Walsh earned her third consecutive trip to state by shooting a third-place score of 81 that was just one stroke behind the two frontrunners. The top three teams and the top three individuals not on qualifying teams earned their way into the state finals, and Walsh had the lowest score of those individual qualifiers, earning praise from Chemics’ coach Jeff Babin.

“She’s not over the injury, she’s just managing it, but she had no idea how it was going to go today,” said Babin. “She said she was in moderate pain and stiffness the entire time, and she had to change up her swing a little bit.

“Those other two times making it to states, she finished tied for third as an individual at regionals, and she did that healthy,” Babin added of Walsh, who, like the other golfers, had to walk the 18-hole course without a cart. “To do this without practicing for a week, on a tough course where no one shot in the 70s and she finished one stroke off being medalist on a bad ankle, which (significantly affects) a golf swing — (given all that), she showed a lot about her game and her toughness and her maturity.”

Midland finished 10th out of 14 teams with a 410. Stoney Creek won with a 348, while Lake Orion was second with a 367 and Davison was third with a 370.

Rachel Mervyn came in at 102 for the Chemics, while Alyssa Kaminski shot a 106 and Kirstyn Cotton shot a 121.

Babin said Walsh will now look to rest and continue to heal while awaiting next Friday and Saturday’s state tournament at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West Golf Course.

“She knows that she can play (through the injury) now, and that’s a big thing, but the state finals are two days as opposed to just one, so we’ll see how her right ankle and that ligament feel (Thursday),” said Babin. “Whether she can play two days in a row is unknown at this point, but she’s got a week to relax and can take a cart when she goes down to see the course this weekend.”

Even with the injury, Babin doesn’t discount Walsh’s potential for a top-10 or higher finish.

“I think she was happy to qualify for states the last two years, and just being there was an experience,” said Babin. “But this year she has a goal to finish in the top 10 overall, and that’s with the injury. Without it, I think she would probably set a goal for herself of finishing in the top five. She hasn’t finished worse than fifth in any tournament we’ve played this year, and she’s certainly capable of golfing with the best girls in the state.”